Independent Contractors

Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent... more +

Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is not always an easy determination. However, due to differences in tax and liability treatment, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can have serious consequences. Autonomy is the defining feature of independent contractor arrangements. Independent contractors control the manner and method of how work is performed while payers control the desired result. Control over schedule and number of hours worked, ownership of equipment or tools, permanency of relationship, and acceptance of jobs from multiple entities are all possible factors in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.
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On January 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey decided which independent contractor classification test should be used in determining a person’s employment status under the New Jersey Wage Payment Law (WPL) and Wage and...more

Over the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed several high profile lawsuits accusing employers of retaliating against employees by requiring them to waive discrimination claims in return...more

Last week's Privilege Point described the Southern District of New York's prediction that the Second Circuit might reject the widely-accepted "functional equivalent" doctrine. Church & Dwight Co. Inc. v. SPD Swiss Precision...more

The distinction between independent contractors and employees carries more burdens, consequences, and decisions than ever before. In addition to the tax consequences, there are health care compliance consequences, workers’...more

On February 5, 2015, Judge Robert G. Stearns issued industry-favorable decisions in two worker classification suits pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Based upon the First Circuit...more

This post was contributed by Jennifer E. Will, an Attorney in McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC's Labor & Employment Practice Group in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. If you do, you'll need to sign a release and waive all of your...more

As our readers know, federal and state departments of labor have intensified their scrutiny of independent contractor arrangements and are coordinating with the federal and state taxing authorities when misclassifications are...more

Every employer eventually tackles the question of whether its labor force is composed of employees, independent contractors, or a combination of both. The appeal of the independent contractor classification is understandable...more

Disruptive “technology” companies Uber and Lyft were back in court recently doing their best to ensure their business models are not upended by a ruling that their drivers should be classified as employees rather than...more

Rideshare services, which typically work by having users arrange rides using mobile apps on their phones with drivers who decide whether they want to provide a ride to a user at their discretion, have grown immensely in...more

A looming surge of cases threatens to expand the joint employment doctrine and fundamentally alter the operations of franchisors, retailers, and businesses utilizing independent contractors within the four walls of their...more

On February 1, 2015, the Joint Enforcement Task Force on Employee Misclassification issued its Annual Report. The Report noted that the New York Task Force members in 2014 conducted over 12,000 audits and investigations,...more

A number of our blog posts since October 2010, including our monthly updates beginning in November 2012, have included reports on class action lawsuits by exotic dancers against strip clubs. This industry has, by far, the...more

On January 20, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that Wisconsin has also joined the growing list of states that have entered into formal agreements with the DOL to share information about worker misclassification. ...more

Why is anyone surprised to learn that the judges hearing two class actions involving Uber and Lyft drivers in California are leaning towards holding that the drivers are employees, and not independent contractors? At the...more

The President released his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget today, February 2, 2015. In furtherance of the President’s budget request, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division provided a 32-page budget justification to Congress...more

JANITORIAL FRANCHISE COMPANY SETTLES ITS APPEAL OF $4.8 MILLION JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF MISCLASSIFIED CUSTODIANS. Coverall North America Inc. settled the independent contractor misclassification case filed against it by a class...more

After leaving his job as a massage therapist at West Hollywood Community Health & Fitness Center (d/b/a “Voda Spa”), Mario Serban applied for unemployment benefits. The Employment Development Department sent Voda Spa a letter...more

Salazar v. Victory Entertainment, Inc., No. B249888 (December 15, 2014): In a recent decision, a California Court of Appeal revived a class action lawsuit brought by a group of exotic dancers who claimed that they were...more

If you are a young startup, then you probably have more work than you do time to perform the work. That means you are probably starting to think about bringing in additional talent to help you. ...more

In Hargrove v. Sleepy’s LLC, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that the legal test for determining employee status under New Jersey unemployment compensation laws should also be used to determine employee status in...more

On January 14, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court (the Court) ruled that when determining whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor under the New Jersey wage laws—specifically, the NJ Wage Payment Law...more